Best Online Colleges in Illinois for 2024

Get detailed info on Best Online Colleges in Illinois and their online degrees, financial aid and scholarships, acceptance rate, tuition and fees.

Best online colleges in Illinois

Illinois is located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is the 5th most populous state in the United States. It has some of the significant institutions that offer online courses. The state has developed a system of online learning. This new system of learning has catered to many people within and outside the state.

Illinois is a member of the Midwestern-State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement which allows students and working professionals to access online programs and distance education courses across the state. Out of 200 institutions in Illinois, more than 75% of the schools offer online programs. The Illinois Board of Higher Education encourages students to apply only to accredited colleges. Illinois is part of a community called 'Illinois Community Colleges Online' (ILCCO), which is an association of the 48 community colleges in Illinois. This shows us how online colleges are being embraced by the state.

Opportunities for college education in Illinois

Illinois has around 186 degree-granting institutions out of which 60 are public institutions, 83 are private not-for-profit institutions, and 43 are private for-profit institutions. The student enrollment in 2016 was 777,720 and the number of degrees awarded was 40,410 Associate's Degrees, 75,687 Bachelor's Degrees, 42,124 Master's Degrees, 8,860 Doctoral Degrees. 

The state provides various financial aids for the students. The institutions also provide scholarships for eligible students. The state provides need-based and non-need based grants which were approximately $372.3 million and $1.051 million respectively between 2013-2014.

The online colleges in Illinois are expanding and have kept their standards high in terms of the quality of online education besides being affordable. The online colleges offer various programs like Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Masters and Doctorate Degrees along with few short-term courses.

Following are the Best Online Colleges in Illinois in 2019.

Oakton Community College

Des Plaines, Illinois


Institution Type: Public

Financial Aid Percentage: 46%

Average Financial Aid: $3,904

Acceptance Rate: Request Info

Total Programs Offered (2)


2

Computer Science Programs

Frontier Community College

Fairfield, Illinois


Institution Type: Public

Financial Aid Percentage: 100%

Average Financial Aid: $3,823

Acceptance Rate: Request Info

Total Programs Offered (2)


2

Arts Programs

Dominican University

River Forest, Illinois


Institution Type: Private Not-For-Profit

Financial Aid Percentage: 100%

Average Financial Aid: $20,734

Acceptance Rate: 64.00

Total Programs Offered (1)


1

Arts Program

Carl Sandburg College

Galesburg, Illinois


Institution Type: Public

Financial Aid Percentage: 85%

Average Financial Aid: $7,126

Acceptance Rate: Request Info

Total Programs Offered (7)


4

Computer Science Programs

2

Information Technology Programs

1

Arts Program

Moody Bible Institute

Moody Bible Institute

Chicago, Illinois


Institution Type: Private Not-For-Profit

Financial Aid Percentage: 76%

Average Financial Aid: $8,002

Acceptance Rate: 62.00

Total Programs Offered (14)


11

Theology Programs

2

Education Programs

1

Political Science Program

Western Illinois University

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois


Institution Type: Public

Financial Aid Percentage: 77%

Average Financial Aid: $8,809

Acceptance Rate: 59.00

Total Programs Offered (6)


3

Education Programs

1

Business Management Program

1

Anthropology Program

1

Other Program

Rend Lake College

Ina, Illinois


Institution Type: Public

Financial Aid Percentage: 66%

Average Financial Aid: $4,908

Acceptance Rate: Request Info

Total Programs Offered (1)


1

Business Management Program

National Louis University (NLU)

National Louis University (NLU)

Chicago, Illinois


Institution Type: Private Not-For-Profit

Financial Aid Percentage: 94%

Average Financial Aid: $8,745

Acceptance Rate: 76.00

Total Programs Offered (22)


11

Business Management Programs

6

Education Programs

1

Psychology Program

4

Other Programs

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights, Illinois


Institution Type: Private Not-For-Profit

Financial Aid Percentage: 100%

Average Financial Aid: $16,427

Acceptance Rate: 70.00

Total Programs Offered (1)


1

Arts Program

Greenville University

Greenville University

Greenville, Illinois


Institution Type: Private Not-For-Profit

Financial Aid Percentage: 100%

Average Financial Aid: $17,393

Acceptance Rate: 58.00

Total Programs Offered (17)


11

Education Programs

4

Business Management Programs

1

Criminal Justice Program

1

Other Program